HP’s outdated Pro 8 tablet is meant for government usage

Tech giant HP on Tuesday announced the launch of its Pro 8 tablet in the India. Being marketed as a ‘Made for India’ product, this outdated tablet is cleverly targeted at government usage. The company is already boasting big deals that it has made with various state governments for delivering the device. Afterall, who in the government cares if the tablets are actually even worth the millions of rupees being spent on them.

Sporting an 8-inch 1280x800p HD screen, the tablet is powered by quad-core MediaTek MT8735 processor, which was unveiled back in 2015. Even the software version running on the tablet – Android 6.0 Marshmallow – is two-years-old. However, the company is promising to provide Nougat before the end of 2017. Check out the full specs below.

Display: 8-inch 1280x800p IPS

Processor: 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8735

Memory: 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD card slot with support up to just 64GB

Cameras: 5MP rear camera, 2MP front shooter

Connectivity: WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G, voice-calling support

Battery: 6000 mAh battery

OS: Android 6.0

This is not all, HP’s press release is full of services and features, which are in line with government’s so-called Digital India vision and will help with delivering benefits of government schemes to the masses. The company is also offering additional customisations like Iris and fingerprint scanner for Aadhar based authentication, Thermal Printer and Magnetic Strip Reader for financial transactions and Bar Code Scanner for inventory management. As you would expect, these features are not part of the standard tablet package and will be available as bulky add-ons at extra cost as portrayed in the images below.

The tablet (without the addons) has been priced at Rs. 19,374 and is currently being sold at HP Shopping for Rs. 18,942.

HP clearly has a ‘winner’ on its hands. With right marketing and sales pitch, the government departments will gobble up these tablets with ease and help HP fill its coffers with millions of Digital India money. It doesn’t matter the tablet is obsolete and not deserving to be sold at 19K.